Wood Dragon Technique Prototype—Orochimaru Has His Eye on Me

Inside the Senju residence, three Root ninjas hung suspended in midair by vines.

The leader's short blade had already fallen to the ground, while the other two had gone numb in all four limbs, unable even to form hand seals.

Chenshu Senju stepped out of the room, his gaze sweeping over the three of them. "Danzo sent you to protect me? This is how you protect me?"

The three fell silent at once.

After all, it was hard to explain why protection involved climbing over walls in the dead of night.

"We have nothing to do with Root."

"I understand. Root's rules—deny everything until death."

Chenshu Senju raised a hand, and the vines immediately tightened.

The Root ninja let out a muffled groan, and a scroll hidden at his waist fell out as well.

There was no writing on the scroll's surface, only a set of special coded symbols.

Chenshu Senju activated his Sharingan and memorized everything on it. Then he stuffed the scroll back into the man's clothes.

"Go tell Danzo to send a few more next time."

The three men's expressions changed.

It sounded incredibly arrogant.

But none of the three had even touched Chenshu Senju's door, so they hardly had the right to argue.

Chenshu Senju did not kill them. He merely used Wood Release to seal their chakra pathways.

By the time the vines loosened, the three had already lost the ability to move.

A few minutes later, a squad of ANBU arrived at the scene.

They looked at the three masked ninjas lying neatly outside the courtyard, then at the completely undamaged residence, unsure who had actually been attacked.

Root headquarters.

Danzo's face darkened after hearing the report.

The failed attack was one thing, but the other side had even memorized the contact locations recorded on the coded scroll.

To prevent an intelligence leak, Root had no choice but to evacuate three hideouts overnight.

What had begun as a mere warning ended with the loss of three subordinates and half their communications network.

They had tried to steal a chicken and gotten plucked instead.

A few days later, registration for the Chunin Exams officially opened.

Kakashi placed the application forms before Team 7. "Whether you participate is up to you. But let me remind you, genin from other ninja villages will be taking part this time."

"I'm in!"

Naruto was the first to snatch up an application form, afraid that even one second of hesitation would cost him his chance to become a chunin.

Sasuke took one as well.

Sakura Haruno hesitated for a moment. Seeing that none of her three teammates intended to withdraw, she could only sign up too.

On the day of the Chunin Exams, a large number of genin had gathered outside the Hidden Leaf Village testing site.

The moment Chenshu Senju reached the second floor, he sensed a cold chakra presence.

He turned and saw three Sand Village ninjas standing on the other side of the corridor.

The red-haired boy at their head carried a gourd on his back, with the character for "love" carved into his forehead.

Temari held an iron fan in her arms, while Kankuro stood beside her. Though the two appeared calm, they remained half a step away from Gaara at all times.

Naruto lowered his voice. "Why does that guy with the gourd keep staring at us?"

"Maybe he thinks your clothes are too bright."

"What does that have to do with my clothes?"

"They make it easier to aim at you."

Naruto: ...

Gaara's gaze passed over Naruto and finally settled on Chenshu Senju.

Killing intent spread out without any attempt at concealment. Several nearby genin went pale and instinctively backed away.

It was as if he came with his own villain entrance music.

The kind with the volume cranked all the way up.

Chenshu Senju calmly met his gaze. The life force radiating from his sage body made the One-Tail within Gaara grow restless.

"Your blood should taste delicious."

"If you want some, come try it."

The corridor instantly fell silent.

Temari reached out to stop Gaara, while Kankuro put away the contempt he had shown earlier.

Anyone who dared provoke Gaara head-on while he was releasing killing intent was either very strong or had something wrong with his head.

And Chenshu Senju's expression did not look like the latter.

Not far away, four Sound Ninja watched the entire exchange. One of them quietly turned around and disappeared down the stairwell.

Before long, the first written exam began.

Ibiki Morino stood at the front of the room. After announcing the rules, the only sound left in the examination hall was the scratching of pens against paper.

Naruto stared at his test paper, cold sweat gradually forming on his forehead.

He recognized every word in the questions, but when they were put together, they looked like another language.

Chenshu Senju glanced over the test paper and quietly activated his Sharingan.

The movements of the surrounding examinees, as well as the thin threads hidden beneath the desks by several Sound Ninja, all entered his field of vision.

Tiny bells hung from the threads. If anyone touched one, the proctoring ninjas would immediately notice that direction.

This method was obviously aimed at Hidden Leaf Village examinees.

With a flick of his finger, Chenshu Senju sent a wood chip onto the corner of Naruto's desk.

Naruto was just about to reach out for an answer when the wood chip struck the back of his hand.

He froze for a moment, then followed Chenshu Senju's gaze beneath the desk and finally spotted the thread.

On the other side, Sakura Haruno was about to move her chair when its leg was pinned in place by a tiny wooden thorn.

She looked down and quickly understood.

Sasuke watched it all unfold, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

During a written exam, Chenshu Senju had practically carried two teammates through while they lay there doing nothing.

After Ibiki announced that everyone had passed, Naruto was the first to jump up.

"I knew I could pass without turning in a blank paper!"

Sakura Haruno punched him on the head. "But you did turn in a blank paper!"

During the break, Chenshu Senju went to an empty corner, opened the bloodline-limit restricted card pool, and put all his remaining draws into it.

[Draw successful.]

[Obtained Wood Release Enhancement Fragment.]

[Obtained Wood-Attribute Chakra Enhancement.]

[Ten-draw guarantee triggered.]

[Obtained rare reward: Wood Release, Wood Dragon Technique Prototype.]

A flood of information poured into his mind.

Chenshu Senju raised his right hand. A wooden dragon as thick as an arm emerged from his palm, coiled around his body once, then turned back into wood chips.

Though it was only a prototype and could not compare with the First Hokage's Wood Dragon, it already possessed the ability to absorb chakra.

With his current strength, ordinary jonin would find it difficult to pose a threat to him.

The second exam: the Forest of Death.

To other genin, it was a survival test.

To Chenshu Senju, it was little more than a larger training ground.

Late that night.

Inside an underground base at the border of the Land of Fire, Orochimaru opened the secret letter delivered by the Sound Ninja.

When he saw the words "Wood Release awakener," his golden vertical pupils narrowed slightly.

Originally, there had been only one name on his research list: Sasuke Uchiha.

Orochimaru ran his tongue over the corner of his mouth, picked up a pen, and added another line beneath Sasuke's name.

Chenshu Senju.

"The Senju Clan's Wood Release, combined with the Uchiha's Sharingan..."

"These Chunin Exams are becoming more and more interesting."